The candy bowl comparison hit me. I went back to waiting tables a while ago and ended up doing something similar, making sculptures from pizza boxes and receipts, turning every shift into a kind of performance. I called the whole body of work "Waiting." Same instinct as your sticky notes: finding the art in the thing that wasn't supposed to be art.
I might or might not adopt this fantastic method. At the end of last year, I made it a personal goal to, at the very least, create one drawing every day. Why? Because I felt that a part of my artistic skillset was gradually diminishing over the years. While I have my own system for this (daily “Field Notes” that feature a small illustration), I can definitely expand and incorporate more practice into my days when I’m in the office for my hybrid schedule. I’m so grateful to have read this essay today. Thank you!
Thanks, Anton. Best of luck, I can tell you it felt great to exercise that unused muscle. Sticky notes lower the pressure, too, because you don’t feel like you have to make a masterpiece.
At a previous job I started drawing scenes from the conference room where we had some scrap paper. We shared the space with the accounting team and they were really bothered by my drawings but never pinned it on me. They were basic drawings of chairs around the table or the tree outside the window. I still don’t understand their frustration over it. 😂
The candy bowl comparison hit me. I went back to waiting tables a while ago and ended up doing something similar, making sculptures from pizza boxes and receipts, turning every shift into a kind of performance. I called the whole body of work "Waiting." Same instinct as your sticky notes: finding the art in the thing that wasn't supposed to be art.
That’s a beautiful idea. 🙂
I might or might not adopt this fantastic method. At the end of last year, I made it a personal goal to, at the very least, create one drawing every day. Why? Because I felt that a part of my artistic skillset was gradually diminishing over the years. While I have my own system for this (daily “Field Notes” that feature a small illustration), I can definitely expand and incorporate more practice into my days when I’m in the office for my hybrid schedule. I’m so grateful to have read this essay today. Thank you!
Thanks, Anton. Best of luck, I can tell you it felt great to exercise that unused muscle. Sticky notes lower the pressure, too, because you don’t feel like you have to make a masterpiece.
At work for a while I was drawing small animals in all the whiteboard and flip charts I could find. This post made me remember that! 😍
That’s great! Whiteboards are great because people feel bad erasing other people’s notes and if it’s art they feel worse. 🤣
At a previous job I started drawing scenes from the conference room where we had some scrap paper. We shared the space with the accounting team and they were really bothered by my drawings but never pinned it on me. They were basic drawings of chairs around the table or the tree outside the window. I still don’t understand their frustration over it. 😂
That tracks actually. 🤣 It does not compute for certain folks.
I just keep thinking how joyful this is. Love it!